MVP Interview

What does MVP think about his ring gear? You know, the one that sends the crowd into a "Power Ranger" chanting frenzy.

"I laugh when they say Power Ranger because I don't hear anyone call Jushin "Thunder" Liger a Power Ranger," says MVP, the newly crowned United States champion who explains that his suit is supposed to have that T.O./Under Armour feel to it. "I look at it like this: You're making fun of me in an athletic suit but a guy wearing some Speedos is perfectly OK? Explain that one to me. Or even tights. A guy is wearing tights, those are just some heavy-duty pantyhose and people in the crowd are trying to rag on me for the outfit of a world class athlete? You better look around."

The same fans reminiscing about the Mighty Morphin ones, though, are now also paying homage to MVP by shouting along to his Jim Jones, Ballin' elbow.

And the heat he once received based off character alone has flipped into another crowd response all together as fans realize the potential and passion of wrestling's Terrell Owens.

What does MVP think about people cheering him? How much credit should Chris Benoit get for making MVP the wrestler he is today? Does he do sit-ups in his driveway while his agent hollers "next question" at the media?

I had the chance to ask one of wrestling's fastest rising stars all of this and more as he took time out on his day off to give me a call and fill the world in on everything Montel Vontavious Porter.

Here's what he had to say

IGN Sports: In my eyes you've shown more improvement the last couple of months than anyone else in WWE. Do you see your feud with Chris Benoit as a career changing moment? The feud where you've arrived on the world scene?

MVP: I would say it's a career defining moment. Chris Benoit is arguably, no inarguably one of the greatest ever, arguably one of the top five in the history of our business. There's nobody more intense, there's nobody who works harder. Chris Benoit is just amazing. Even if you're not a fan of wrestling, if you see him in the ring, you have to do a double take and recognize there's something about him that's different than all the rest. For me, to find myself in a feud with Chris Benoit and ultimately to beat him for the United States title, that defines who I am. At this point in my career, if I can beat Chris Benoit for the United States title, there's nobody who I can't beat.

IGN Sports: How has Benoit helped your development, not only in the ring, but as a performer overall?

MVP: There are so many intangibles. First thing, Chris Benoit, as great as he is a wrestler, he is as a person. His passion for our business, for our sport is unrivaled and he recognizes the young guys around him who have that kind of passion. He's taken the time to give of himself selflessly, and not just in the ring, but out of the ring. I watch how he treats people, how he deals with people and situations and circumstances. I try to emulate those things. He's been instrumental in my development.

IGN Sports: I hear Benoit doesn't cut his fingernails, even sharpens them to deliver the fiercest chest chop in the game. How are you liking those chops night-after-night the last few months?

MVP: [laughs] I don't know about the fingernail part, but let me tell you this, my suit has a zipper that runs down the front. On any given day I have a line that runs down the center of my chest. Just the other day, it's funny, I showed Edge. I took a few chops and then I rolled out with Edge, we were teaming against Benoit and Batista, and I unzipped it to show him the blood of the zipper cutting my skin open because of Chris Benoit's chops. It's like getting slapped in the chest with a skillet.

IGN Sports: Out at Wrestlemania I was talking to Steve Austin and I asked him who he thought were the young guys who had a chance to breakthrough and become major stars. The first name he said was Kennedy. The second was MVP because of your aggressive nature in the ring. What does it mean to you to hear something like that from one of the legends in the sport?

MVP: Wow, to hear a statement like that from Stone Cold you know some guys will hear a statement like that and they'll sit back and rest on their laurels. To hear something like that drives me. It makes me want to work that much harder, spend that much more time in the gym, and spend that much more time on my cardio because I strive to be in that upper echelon. I totally expect to hear my name spoken in the same breath as Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Stone Cold, The Rock. That's my goal. I'm not here to be good, I'm here to be great and when I hear one of the greatest acknowledge me in that way, that just makes me want to strive that much harder.